In a small cottage that lay in the middle of a dense forest, Merlin was practicing his magic spells with the watchful eye of his owl, Archemedes. He had been concocting a number of special spells for the past week, but none of them were successful. However, he was especially jovial this day, because he knew in his heart of hearts that this was the day when he would do a perfect spell.
But of course, the always incredulous Archemedes had his doubts. Mainly because Merlin's previous attempts mostly resulted in him either being roasted, fried, plucked, feathered, and even one spell that made him think that he was the assistant to the president of the United States. The president filed a restraining order against him and now he's no longer allowed in Washington D.C.
"This is it, Archemedes! This time I have it!" Merlin declared.
"You said that last time! And the time before that, and the time before that, and the time before that!" Archemedes said, still wearing the scars.
"But this time, I have the perfect spell, a smoke spell!" Merlin said.
"Smoke spell?" Archemedes asked.
"It's a spell that will cloak a person in a thick cloud of smoke!" Merlin said.
The wizard went through his usual routine of pulling up his sleeves and prepared to concoct the spell. Meanwhile, Archemedes scurried to a pile of items and riffled through them until he found a helmet that he put on his head.
But first, Merlin took out his gold pocket watch and looked at it. "Hmmmm, if I'm not mistaken..." he said to himself.
"And you usually are..." Archemedes retorted.
Merlin just chose to ignore the owl. "They should be here in a couple of minutes," he said.
"Who? Who?" Archemedes asked. "Oh wait, let me guess, you don't know, but you know they will be here, right?"
"Correct! And I know it will something very important," said Merlin.
"Oh! Pin feathers!" said Archemedes.
Merlin began the spell. "Higitus, Figitus, Malicus, Boak, make appear before me a cloud of smoke!" he chanted.
Acrhemedes braced himself for was expecting the spell to blow up in his and Merlin's faces. However, to both his and Merlin's shock, a giant cloud of smoke appeared before them. Merlin didn't care that he was coughing, for the first time in a whole week, he actually did a spell that worked.
The spell worked all too well, for Flora, Fauna, Merryweather and the princesses appeared before them and they all coughed from the smoke.
"Merlin *cough* *cough* it's us," said Flora.
"Oh I say, Good Fairies is that you?!" asked Merlin.
"Yes *cough,*" said Merryweather.
"Well bless my soul, how have you ladies been?" asked Merlin.
"Oh quite well, dear *cough*" said Fauna.
"Excuse me *cough* but can we all skip the introductions for a moment and get rid of all this smoke?!" said Tiana.
"Oh! Of course. Higitus, Figitus, Migitus, Mow, come forth and let the wind blow!" Merlin chanted.
A huge gust of wind blew all the smoke out of the cottage.
Merida had a bunch of dust in her hair. She puffed it out like puffing up a pillow.
"Well nice of you ladies to drop by," said Merlin before he took out his watch again and looked at it. "Oh! But eh...you are a tad late."
"We are?" asked Snow White. "I didn't know we had an engagement here."
"We don't," said Tiana. "And just who are you?"
"And what are we dong here?!" Merida shouted.
"Now, now, settle down," said Merlin. "What say we discuss this over a spot of tea?"
"Oh! That sounds delightful," said Snow White.
"We don't have time for stupid tea! We have to go back!" Merida shouted.
"Yeah! My parents have been kidnapped!" said Rapunzel.
"And my dad's been possessed!" said Merida.
"And no doubt the rest of your parents and husbands have been taken," said Flora.
"Well we have to go back and get them!" exclaimed Ariel.
"You won't be able to help in your current state," said Merryweather. "You are dealing with an evil like never before."
Jasmine walked over to the three fairies. "We've beaten the villains before," she said.
"It's not the villains, dear," said Fauna.
"Did you notice those creatures at the party and that larger one with Maleficent?" asked Merryweather.
The princesses all nodded.
"Those creatures are known as Shadow Goblins and their leader, Golett," said Flora.
"Who is Golett?" asked Mulan.
"A horrible monster that almost destroyed the Magic Kingdom!" said Merryweather.
"And he most certainly be looking to do it again," said Flora.
The princesses all gasped.
"Can't we stop him?" asked Cinderella.
"Yes, dearie," said Fauna.
"But you will need a great source of power to defeat Golett," said Flora.
"And we know just the thing for the job," said Merryweather.
"The crystal septors!" the three fairies said.
"What are the crystal septors?" asked Cinderella.
The three good fairies were about to explain when they were cut off by Merlin who magically brought his chair and table before them.
"Hold on! Maybe we should sit on this," Merlin said.
"Very well," Flora said in agreement.
The princesses all took a seat at the table along with Merlin while the three fairies made themselves smaller.
"Now, would any of ladies care for sugar?" Merlin asked.
"Oh! I would, please," said Snow White.
Rapunzel, Aurora, and Cinderella also wanted sugar.
"Well, very good. Sugar!" Merlin said as he clapped his hands and called forth Sugar Boy, a small living sugar bowl.
Tiana jumped in shock. "Is that a movin' sugar bowl!? Tell me that isn't a movin' sugar bowl?!" he said.
"Aww, he is so cute!" said Snow White.
Tiana was now as befuddled as she could be. Monsters, demons, wizards, fairies, and now moving sugar bowls! "It's official, I have official left planet Earth," she said to herself.
Sugar Boy made his way to Snow White and began putting spoons of sugar in her tea.
"Now say 'when,' when you want him to stop, Ms. White," said Merlin.
"When," said Snow White.
Sugar Boy stopped and went over to Merida, followed by the rest.
"So again, what exactly are these crystal septors?" asked Cinderella.
"They are item of great power and the only means to defeat Golett," said Flora.
Meanwhile, Sugar Boy came to Tiana's cup.
"Yeah, we know that, but what exactly...'when' are they?" Tiana asked.
"Well, they go back hundreds of years," said Flora as she and the other fairies began to tell the story.
Long ago, before the Magic Kingdom came to be and before any of the princesses were born, in a faraway kingdom, lived a royal family who was descended from a great lineage of kings, queens, princes, and princesses, who not only ruled over the land, but also were great and powerful sorcerers. They were known as The Aarouns.
On a very special day, the king and queen gave birth to a daughter whom they named, "Tabitha."
The three good fairies resided over the birth of the child.
In years, the child grew to be a beautiful young woman with long black raven hair with the fairies watching over her.
In her teen years, Tabitha, like her predecessors before her, showed potential and soon after, she was trained by an ancient council of sorcerers known as The Enchanted Guild. In time, Tabitha's skills improved and was quickly becoming one of the most powerful sorcerers in her family.
During her years of training, Tabitha and the good fairies developed a deep, aunt/niece relationship.
A few years into her training, she met and fell in love with a young man from a neighboring kingdom. His name was Joshua.
The good fairies, as well as Tabitha's parents were happy for their relationship and Joshua got along well with them.
A year went by and Tabitha had progressed well in her training. After a while, the Guild decided that because of her excellent progress, Tabitha was ready to become a full fledged sorceress. Her parents agreed, but before this could happen, they ordered the royal blacksmiths, who had been responsible for crafting the staffs for the Aarouns for many years, to create a new staff for Tabitha.
The process took a few days and in the meantime, Tabitha and Joshua's love grew stronger and stronger.
One day, Tabitha rushed over to the good fairies and said that Joshua had told her that he wanted to ask her something really important later in the day.
As it turned out, on that very same day, Tabitha's staff was complete. It was just above her height, purple and green in color, with a circle at the top and a design of the moon at the circle.
The youngest of the blacksmiths, just about her age, presented the staff to her. The princess was enraptured at the sight of her new staff and in her excitement, she couldn't help but give the young blacksmith a hug, followed by a kiss.
Unfortunately, Joshua saw this as he came into the castle. Confused and heartbroken, the young prince ran from the castle.
Tabitha tried to catch him to explain herself, but it was too late, Joshua left the castle, back to his kingdom, never to return.
The young princess from then on was heartbroken, as she had lost the love of her life. Long months had gone by and even the princess had become a powerful sorceress, it meant nothing to her.
Then, one day, Golett and his dark creatures attacked the kingdom.
Heartbroken or not, Tabitha realized she had to defend her kingdom. She and her parents did everything they could to fend off the creatures. They succeeded in fending off a large number of them, but Golett's power was far greater and proved to be too much for them to handle.
As hard as Tabitha's parents tried, Golett overpowered them until he ultimately slain them.
Tabitha was the only one of her family left. She had been weakened immensely and Golett was the verge of destroying her. She soon realized there was only one spell she could use.
The good fairies begged her not to, but she knew it was the only way of defeating Golett. She took her staff and formed a magical circle and with every bit of her life energy, she entrapped Golett within the circle, underneath the castle. The mark of the circle was left from that point on.
The young princess had saved her kingdom, but at a heavy price. Her life was fading slowly and the castle was nearly destroyed.
Even though she had stopped Golett, she realized there was a possibility of him coming back.
With her dying breath, she ordered the royal blacksmiths to construct eleven crystal septors. After their completion, she drained her essence into them, placing a spell on them so that if the day ever came that Golett returned, eleven princesses, pure of heart, would find them and use their power to destroy him once and for all.
"We believe those princesses are you," said Fauna.
"Us?" asked Mulan.
"Yes," answered Flora.
"But what makes you think it's us?" asked Tiana.
"We could feel it," said Flora. "The energy of a princess comes from the purity and strength in her heart."
"And as good fairies, we are able to sense this," said Fauna.
"Over the centuries, we have met many princesses with a fair amount of pure energy, and some not so much, but yours, we've sensed, is nothing like we've ever felt before," said Merryweather.
"You possess an extraordinary amount of pure energy which comes from your pure hearts, your acts of selflessness, your compassion, your caring, your kindness, your bravery, and your unrelenting spirit. We know in our heart of hearts that you are the ones who will defeat Golett," said Flora.
Suddenly, Aurora walked over to the three fairies. "Even me?" she asked.
"Yes dear," said Fauna. "We could sense it from the day you were born and while we raised you in the cottage."
Further befuddlement befell the princesses. It was one thing to be named queens, but now they find that they are the only ones that can stop an ancient evil? That was a lot of pressure to put on them.
"Oh naw, naw, naw, naw, naw, no way! This is crazy!" Tiana said pessimistically.
"Well I say we go for it!" said Merida.
"What?!" Tiana said.
"Me too!" said Ariel.
"And me," said Pocahontas.
The other princesses, with the exception of Aurora and Tiana were in agreement.
"Are you all crazy?!" Tiana said.
Cinderella walked over to Tiana and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know it seems farfetched, but we have to do this. Everyone is depending on us," she said.
Pocahontas then walked over and placed her hand on Tiana's other shoulder. "And we have to stop Golett and the villains. You know it is the only way to save those we love," she said.
Tiana realized her friends were right as well as realizing she needed to save her beloved Naveen.
Cinderella turned to the three fairies. "So where are these septors?" she asked.
"After they were forged, The Enchanted Guild separated the septors to the far corners of the world. Each one to a different kingdom. Ones that you have never seen before," said Flora.
"Well where can we find them?" asked Snow White.
"You must travel through the oceans beyond the Magic Kingdom to the Realm of Alatar," said Merryweather.
"The Realm of Alatar is an archipelago of island kingdoms," said Flora.
"As many as a hundred," said Fauna.
"A HUNDRED?!" the princesses all shouted.
"Well no one said it was gonna be easy, dearies," said Fauna.
Back at the Forbidden Mountain, the members of the Evil Empire were gathered along with Golett.
Shan Yu was furiously swinging his sword in anger. "Why could we not finish them off right then and there?!" he huffed.
"We have more important things to think about, such as our plan," said Maleficent.
"But If these crystal septors do exist, chances are the princesses will probably go after them," Jafar pointed out.
Maleficent smirked at Jafar's words. "It is of little consequence. To find them, they would have to travel to the Realm of Alatar and there hundreds if not thousands of islands there. It would probably take them years to find them. And if they should happen to find them and come back, we will be ready for them. Golett, are the forces ready?" she asked.
Golett nodded. "Yes, Maleficent," he said before he made hundreds of Shadow Goblins appear in front of him.
"Excellent. Now with this unstoppable army, we will be able to take over the kingdoms," said Maleficent.
"And of course, I will be at your side," said Golett as he stroked his hand across Maleficent's chin.
Gothel had maintained her suspicions from earlier about Golett. It wasn't something she could explain, but she felt something that just wasn't right from him. Somewhere deep down, she couldn't help but feel that maybe Golett had his own motives. Just then, Gothel was approached by Gaston who also noticed the way Golett was sort of flirting with Maleficent.
"Hey, Gothel, do those two give you any ideas?" he asked as he slowly put his arm around Gothel's shoulder.
"Yes, one comes to mind," Gothel answered.
"Really? What?" Gaston asked.
"Well, if you don't get your hands off me, my idea is to take this dagger and slice you wide open," Gothel answered as she took out her dagger and pointed it towards Gaston's throat. "Are we clear?"
"Crystal," Gaston answered nervously with sweat pouring down his face before he walked away.
Soon, Gothel was joined by Grimhilde, Tremaine, and Ursula.
"Men!" they all said.
Gaston was with Facilier, Jafar, and Shan Yu.
"Women!" they all said.
Golett called forward his troops. "Now my Shadow Goblins, go! Go with the Evil Empire and spread your darkness across the eleven kingdoms! The reign of evil has begun!" he proclaimed.
The Shadow Goblins shouted in unison at the words of their leader. Each member of the Evil Empire took their own team of goblins and headed off to take over their respective kingdom for themselves.
Gothel of course had her own troop of goblins, however she still had her doubts about the plan.
The quickest way to the Realm of Alatar was through the waters of the Enchanted Dominion.
The princesses and the good fairies took refuge in the old cottage where they had raised Aurora to make the preparations for what would no doubt be a journey that would last days or even weeks. The fairies made sure that they had all the essential supplies; the food, first aid, compass, etc...
Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather all checked the windows because they knew at any moment, Golett's Shadow Goblins could attack. For the moment, the coast was clear, but the fairies knew the time was now to begin their journey.
Fauna gathered all the princesses around. "Now dearies remember, we might be gone for quite a while, so remember to stay near each other at all times, be careful not to talk to strangers, and we will be traveling by boat so make sure to keep your hands, feet, crowns, and assorted hair products inside the boat at all times," she said.
As Fauna continued, Flora saw that Aurora wasn't present. She then looked up and saw the door to what was Aurora's old room opened. She then turned to Merryweather. "Merryweather, go outside and check around the forest for anything suspicious," she said.
Merryweather nodded and went outside to scour the forest.
Meanwhile, Flora went up to a rather distraught Aurora laying on her old bed. "Dear? What's wrong?" she asked.
Aurora sat up and eyed Flora. "It's just you and Fauna and Merryweather knew this about me all this time. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.
Flora took Aurora by the hand before she explained herself. "Oh dear, we didn't tell you because at the time, we felt it wasn't necessary. And when we revealed that you were betrothed to be married to Phillip and before you knew the truth, that had devastated you. We couldn't bear for you to have another weight on your shoulders," she said.
Aurora tilted her head down. Flora could automatically sense her doubt and lifted her head back up and looked at her again. "But now is the time. We know you have what it takes to be a great hero," she said.
"But what if I can't," said Aurora. "I mean I'm not exactly a fighter, not like Mulan, Merida, and Jasmine. And I'm not as smart or strong as Belle or Pocahontas and Ariel's so clever and Tiana's a hard worker and..."
"You can be all those things too," said Flora. "You have to believe in yourself like we believe in you...Rose."
With that last word, Aurora found herself feeling reassured as she smiled at Flora. The two then shared a hug.
Meanwhile, Merryweather flittered around the forest, searching for any signs of trouble. Just then, she turned and noticed a bright light glowing in the distance to the northeast. Intrigued, she flew over to check it out. Her travels took her to a large pile of rocks where from deep inside, she could see the glowing light. She took out her wand, made the rocks disappear, and Merryweather's eyes burst in shock to what she discovered.
The last of the preparations were made and the princesses along with Aurora were all prepared and ready to go.
In the minds of the princesses, this journey would be one of the most difficult and challenging ones they would ever embark on, but one they knew they would have to in order to save their loved ones and their kingdoms.
The gang was just about ready to go when Fauna caught wind that Merryweather was missing. She had been gone for a little while, so Flora decided to go out and find her.
Before she went out, she turned to Fauna and the princesses. "You know, I love her, but sometimes that Merryweather can such an irresponsible, lackadaisical..." she said before Merryweather burst through the door, causing her to fly into the cupboard and the dishes to fall on top of her.
"Girls! Look what I found!" Merryweather shouted as she presented what looked like a small stone.
But this was not an ordinary stone. This stone glowed many colors.
Fauna and the princesses were amazed at the sight of the stone. Once Flora got herself together, she found herself amazed as well.
Flora and Fauna went over to Merryweather to further observe the stone.
"Where did you find this?" asked Flora.
"I found it deep in the forest under a pile of rocks," said Merryweather.
Just then, Pocahontas walked over along with Tiana, Merida, and Rapunzel.
"I've never seen a stone like before," said Pocahontas.
Merida grabbed the stone out of Merryweather's hands and observed it herself.
"It is kinda pretty," said Rapunzel.
Tiana took the stone next. "Well whatever it is, it sure is weird," she said.
"I beg your pardon!" the stone suddenly said.
In shock, Tiana dropped the stone and Merida and Rapunzel grabbed each other.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, it can talk," said Merryweather.
"That stone just talked! Tell me that stone did not just talk!" Tiana exclaimed.
"Yes I did and I would appreciate it if someone would please pick me up!" the stone bellowed.
Merryweather acquiesced and picked up the talking stone.
Just then, Merida and Rapunzel realized they were holding each other for a bit too long and let go of one another.
The rest of the princesses gathered around the talking stone, now held in Merryweather's possession, equally as confused as the rest. What or from where did this mysterious talking stone come from?
"And young lady, It would be in your best interest to do something about that hair. It's rather lopsided," the stone said to Tiana who huffed at the stone's words.
"Who are you?" asked Belle.
"Huh? Oh! Of course. How silly of me and whatnot. I am the great wizard, Feemer!" the stone said.
Suddenly, that name gave a familiar chime in the heads of the good fairies. As if they had heard it before.
"Feemer? Wait! weren't you one of the original members of the Enchanted Guild?!" Merryweather exclaimed.
"Indeed," Feemer said.
"But what are you doing here?" asked Fauna.
"And how did you become a stone?" asked Flora.
"Well actually, I made myself this way," Feemer answered.
The good fairies and the princesses gasped.
"But why would you turn yourself into a stone?" asked Ariel.
Feemer exposited his past. "Well after me and my follow sorcerers created the crystal septors, and sent them to the Realm of Alatar, I realized that if the time came when the septors needed to be found, the 11 chosen princesses would have a rather difficult time finding them. What with all those wretched islands and whatnot, just puts a strain on your brain if I do say so myself. So afterwards, I created a spell and changed myself into a magical stone with the ability to trace the locations of each of the septors. And so I have been waiting all these years the chosen princesses to found so that I can lead them to the crystal septors. Rather boring I must say, waiting around with no one to talk to. Being a stone is not all its cracked up to be. In fact, it's rather rocky. Bahahahahahaha, rocky! See what I did there?!"
Snow White chuckled while most of the princesses moaned at Feemer's terrible pun. Pocahontas didn't get it.
"Well no sense of humor I see," Feemer said.
"So, you're saying that you can help us find the septors?" Pocahontas asked.
"Most definitely, my dear," said Feemer.
This presented a whole new advantage for the princesses. Now, they had someone who could navigate them through Alatar and this would make their search for the septors a lot easier.
"Well what are we waiting for?! Let's go to Alatar!" Merida proclaimed.
And with that, the princesses gathered the supplies and along with the good fairies and their new companion, set off.
After they had left the cottage, the gang made their way to Stephan's castle. Aurora ordered the castle staff to construct a boat. In a few hours, the boat was completed. It was a long wooden sailboat, painted a bright pink color, simple in design, but sturdy; the perfect boat for a long journey, which is what the princesses were in for.
The boat was carried a nearby ocean where the gang was to set off. The good fairies then loaded the supplies into the boat and then the princesses boarded.
With everything on board, Pocahontas and Mulan lowered the sails. Aurora ordered the staff to push the boat into the ocean. And with that, the princesses, the good fairies, and Feemer were off.
And thus began what would be perhaps the greatest journey of their lives. Never before had the princesses been tested like this. Not only were their live at stakes, but also the lives of their loved one and their kingdoms. If they didn't come out of this in one piece, everything they owned and loved would be doomed.